The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to determine if their proposed actions will have significant environmental effects. In the case of this specific PR-ERF program in Puerto Rico, the primary action required to meet NEPA standards is to review whether or not the project is in a floodway or floodplain, and take action according to the table below. Solar projects in this program meet the definition of “Categorical Exclusion” for other NEPA requirements, which is why the program is able to implement streamlined requirements that are not burdensome to installers.
Installers should also follow the protocols outlined in the following document Protocol for DOE Award Recipients to Implement Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Appendix in this document outlines standard installer practices required by NEPA including following building codes, cleaning up hazardous waste, not taking any endangered species or birds from beneficiary locations, etc. There is no additional NEPA review or application process associated with the items listed in the Appendix.
Step 1. Check the DOE flood map
The DOE has provided this map to look up whether a project is affected.
Installers can enter in the latitude and longitude of the project into the search bar.
Step 2. Determine Flood risk and action required
Type of Flood Risk | Action Required |
| Project is disqualified
|
Determine required mounting height. Equipment must be mounted to a specific height to ensure clearance in the event of a flood. If the height required cannot be met, then projects may be disqualified. (Proceed to step 3) |
Step 3. Determine Floodplain mounting height (if necessary)
Take lat/long provided and put into Google Maps to get the coordinates into the appropriate format:
Example:
Original: 18.444736, -66.004399
Google Maps reformatted version: 18°26'41.1"N 66°00'15.8"W
Paste coordinates in updated format and paste into FEMA map for Base Flood Elevation
Click the ^ button at the bottom of the page to expand the menu
Click the “Base Flood Elevation” tab
Record the elevation listed in meters and enter it into the elevation height calculator (see step 5)
Troubleshooting:
Multiple elevations.
If there is more than one elevation listed, zoom in on the map until there is only one elevation listed
If that does not work, try to enter both into the calculator to see if they both return the same calculator result.
No elevation.
If there is no elevation listed, zoom out, until there is an elevation listed
If zooming in or out does not work to get a single result that give clarity on elevation requirements, then let us know and we will ask DOE for guidance
It is recommended to take elevation measurements while on-site performing the site survey using one of the many applications available for that purpose. This can help determine the eligibility of a site.
Step 4. Determine home elevation
Enter coordinates into this tool -
Record the elevation provided in feet in the calculator (See step 5)
Step 5. Check Floodplain Ground Clearance Calculator
Enter mounting height in meters and home elevation in feet into this calculator to determine if it is disqualified or not: Ground Clearance Calculator Link
The calculator will give you one of 3 results:
Ground Clearance required? | Calculator Result | Notes |
> 5 inches | Disqualified | Technically there could be some viable options to proceed here, but they would be site specific and very expensive (e.g., add a concrete slab) so we are not recommending these projects advance  |
5 inches or less | OK | No special action required, business as usual  |
Example calculator result
If a calculation was required for a specific site, the following screenshot should be included in the site survey PDF to expedite reviews:
Note standard Generac mounting guidance: